Most of us love a good whodunnit and if that floats your boat then Clickbait is for you. It was created by Tony Ayres and Christian White and released on Netflix worldwide. The plot is reasonably simple. A normal man with a seemingly happy life appears on an internet video holding two signs. The first says that when the video gets to 5 million views he will die. The second says he abuses women.
The guy in question is family man Nick Brewer (Adrian Grenier) who is married to Sophie (Betty Gabriel). They have two teenage sons and are close to Nick's sister Pia (Zoe Kazan) and their mum Andrea. Up until the moment Pia sees the video, nobody even knew he was missing. He simply got up, headed to work on his bike and turned up on the internet.
Cue the dash to the police who initially believe the video is a hoax but when a third sign appears indicating that he murdered a woman, the media circus kicks off. The race is on to find Nick before the video, which is now going viral, gets to 5 million views. And of course to find out who took him and why.
But this isn't any normal crime drama. There is a twist to the way that the story is told to the audience. Each of the 8 episodes of Clickbait is told from a different character's perspective. So episode one is told from Pia's point of view. How they got in an argument, she went out and got drunk, went to work the next day and was shown the video.
As that episode ends, the next is picked up by Detective Roshan Amiri (Phoenix Raei) because now it is at the investigation stage. From there the focus is on wife Sophie and so it goes until the series reaches its conclusion.
Clickbait is incredibly engaging. It hooks you in with a seemingly bizarre incident and peels back the layers like an onion. Who is telling the truth? Who is keeping secrets? Did Nick Brewer really kill somebody? Is there more to Nick's secret life and his links to a woman named Sarah Burton? Does he deserve to die? Is he even still alive?? And yes, we get all the answers. But on a deeper level, it looks at the world we live in and our insatiable appetite for drama and a chance to air opinions on social media however unfounded, mean or irrelevant they might be.
Technology plays a large part in Clickbait. The chance meetings on apps, the use of tech to narrow down search areas, the seemingly endless ways of tracking strangers through social media profiles or data. They all add another layer of intrigue to the show but also might make you think about just how much info is out there about you! It's a little like the movie Searching though that one relied almost exclusively on tech as a plot.
Overall Clickbait is pretty binge-worthy. It draws you in and once you're hooked it's very hard to just switch it off especially as the twists and turns keep coming right until the end.
Will There Be A Season 2 Of Clickbait?
It's unlikely that there will be a second season of Clickbait for two reasons. The first is that the story was wrapped up pretty comprehensively so there isn't much to work with in s second season.
The second reason is that it is a Limited Series. That means it's a one-off. So even though it's good and has huge viewing figures, it was never created for multiple seasons. It's a bit like Godless or Unbelievable in that sense.
Who Killed Nick In Clickbait On Netflix?
Well to answer that question would be to spoil the show for a lot of people. Over the course of the 8 episodes, various characters become suspects or at least have something to hide.
But you really do have to watch the show as the answers are revealed in the final episode in a sinister online twist.
Who Is In The Cast Of Clickbait?
Clickbait centres around the life of Nick, played by Adrian Grenier. He first came to prominence all the way back in 1999 when he starred in Drive Me Crazy with Melissa Joan Hart. Five years later and he was the star of Entourage playing Vincent Chase for seven years. You can also watch Adrian Grenier in the upcoming tv movie Cipher when it is released.
Nick's life may be the hook that the entire story hangs on but it is Pia Brewer who leads in terms of the cast of characters. Played by Zoe Kazan, she hails from California and both of her parents are screenwriters. She has also starred in The Deuce and The Plot Against America and in real life her hair is not blonde. She is a brunette!
Sophie Brewer, Nick's wife is played by Betty Gabriel and she is a multi-talented woman. Not only does she have a bachelor's degree in Animal Science/Pre-Vet from Iowa State but she also pursued dancing and acting and is a graduate of Juilliard. If you want to see more of Betty Gabriel check out Defending Jacob and From Now.
And then there is detective Roshan Amiri, played by Phoenix Raei, an Australian actor who grew up in Perth. He has starred in the Australian hit show The Heights and has just finished filming Black Site with Michelle Monaghan.
